Alex Pietrangelo
| birth_place = King City, Ontario, Canada | career_start = 2008 | team = St. Louis Blues | league = NHL | draft = 4th overall | draft_year = 2008 | draft_team = St. Louis Blues }} Alex Pietrangelo (born Alexander Pietrangelo on January 18, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for and alternate captain of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing Career Minor Playing Career Alex played minor hockey in the Greater Toronto Area when he was growing up. He started to play hockey with the Richmond Hill Stars of the OMHA before playing three years with the Vaughan Kings of the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL). As a novice aged player (nine and under), he and his Toronto Pro Hockey Development teammates participated in the 2000 Brick Super Novice Tournament in Edmonton, Alberta. Alex's teammates included Steven Stamkos, Philip McRae and Michael Del Zotto. Toronto was defeated in the tournament final by the Vancouver Pacific Vipers, on a goal by Jordan Eberle. Alex was also a member of the All-Ontario Peewee AAA Champion Vaughan Kings team in 2003. He played three years in the Toronto Jr. Canadiens AAA system. The Jr. Canadiens won Ontario's bantam championship in 2005 with Alex scoring the game-winning goal in the final against the Markham Waxers. Junior Playing Career After his successful minor hockey career, Alex was drafted third overall by the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)'s Mississauga IceDogs in the first round of the 2006 OHL Priority Selection. He scored at a near point-per-game pace in his rookie season with the IceDogs with 52 points in 59 games, then moved with the team to Niagara as the franchise relocated in 2007. In September of 2007, Alex was named Canadian Hockey League Player of the Week after recording three goals and four assists in two games. In December of 2007, TSN ranked him third overall among eligible skaters for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. International Scouting Services described Alex as a "tremendous specimen in terms of size and skills" and ranked him fifth among North American draft prospects at mid-season, then sixth in their final rankings leading up to the Draft. After finishing his second OHL season with 53 points in 60 games, he was selected fourth overall by the St. Louis Blues at the Entry Draft on June 20, 2008. Coming into training camp, the Blues signed Alex to an entry-level contract on September 4, 2008. He earned his way onto the team for opening night and played his first NHL game against the Nashville Predators on October 10, 2008. Three days later, he suffered a head injury on October 13 in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs when Ryan Hollweg checked him from behind into the boards. Alex returned shortly and after playing eight games total for the Blues, he was sent back to his junior team, the Niagara IceDogs. On April 10, 2009, he was assigned to the Blues' top minor league affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League (AHL), after his junior season had ended. Alex began the 2009–10 season on the Blues' roster for a second consecutive year, but played in only nine games by December 2009. After the Blues lent him to the Canadian under-20 team for the 2010 World Junior Championships, he was returned to the OHL. During the World Juniors, his OHL rights were traded from the IceDogs to the Barrie Colts. Playing half a season with Barrie, Alex recorded 29 points in 25 games while adding 14 points in 17 playoff games. Due to his long playoff run with the Colts, he did not have the opportunity to play in the AHL as he did the previous season. Professional Playing Career In the 2010–11 season, Alex played his first full season with the Blues, leading all team defencemen with 43 points (11 goals and 32 assists) over 79 games. He also led team defencemen in plus-minus (+18) and shots (161), while ranking third in average ice time per game. Due to his previous eight- and nine-game seasons in the NHL, Alex did not qualify as a rookie. Comparatively, the League's leading scorer among rookie defencemen that season was teammate Kevin Shattenkirk (who was born a year earlier than him); he also recorded 43 points. At the end of the 2011–12 season, Alex was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team. On September 13, 2013, he agreed to a seven-year, $45 million contract with the Blues. Career Statistics Regular season and playoffs International International Play Canada}} Alex was picked to play for Team Canada's under-18 team at the 2007 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, where he served as an alternate captain. The team finished fourth. He played next for the Canadian National Junior Team at the 2009 World Junior Championships and won a gold medal. The following year, Alex was loaned by his NHL team, the St. Louis Blues, to play for Team Canada in his second World Junior Championships in 2010. He was selected as an alternate captain to Patrice Cormier. In the final game of the round-robin, he scored a shorthanded game-tying goal against the United States to send the game to overtime. Canada eventually won in a shootout and earned a bye into the semi-final. Advancing to the gold medal game, Canada met the United States in a rematch, but lost 6–5 in overtime. Alex picked up several individual honours at the conclusion of the tournament. He was named a Tournament All-Star by the media, the Best Defenceman by the directorate and was selected by the coaching staff as one of Canada's top three players. As the St. Louis Blues failed to make the playoffs in Alex's first full season in the NHL, he was selected to Canada's men's team for the 2011 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia. With two goals and three assists for five points over seven games, he led Canada in defensive scoring while tying for second overall among all tournament defencemen. Canada advanced to the quarterfinal as the top-ranked team in their pool, but lost 2–1 to Russia. At the end of the tournament, Alex was chosen as the Best Defenceman by the directorate. Alex was part of Canada's gold-medal winning 2014 Winter Olympic team. He played in all six of Canada's games, contributing one assist. Category:1990 births Category:St. Louis Blues draft picks Category:St. Louis Blues players Category:Canadian ice hockey players Category:Canadian ice hockey defencemen Category:Peoria Rivermen players Category:Barrie Colts players Category:Niagara IceDogs players Category:Mississauga IceDogs alumni